The man arrested in the death of his girlfriend made his first court appearance on Tuesday. The man made the court appearance via video conference. He is suspected of murdering his girlfriend back in December in Atlantic City. He is a native of Atlantic City and is due back in court Thursday for a detention hearing.
The man , 43, was arrested at a homeless shelter in North Carolina in January. He was waiting to be extradited to New Jersey until this past Monday.
During the video conference court appearance Tuesday, the man requested that the complaint against him be dismissed due to a lack of a probable cause affidavit. The probable cause affidavit is required under New Jersey’s criminal-justice reform.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office argued that the complaint was filed on Dec. 23, 2016, which came before the reforms took effect on Jan. 1, 2017. On Dec. 23, the judge found probable cause in the case and issued a warrant for the man’s arrest.
The judge who presided over the hearing on Tuesday told the court that he could not make a decision regarding dismissing the complaint. The judge said that decision would best be made by the Superior Court judge who will oversee the man’s detention hearing on Thursday.
The prosecutor’s office said it would hand over 140 pages of documents and 19 discs loaded with information for the case that was discovered by the state’s investigation. The information includes probable cause certification from a police officer in Atlantic City who said the offense was domestic violence.
The victim, a 24-year-old female, was discovered at 4:22 in the morning on Dec. 22 in her apartment on North Tennessee Avenue that she shared with the man. According to her friends, she kicked the man out weeks prior to her murder.
An autopsy revealed that the victim died of a single gunshot wound.
An experienced criminal defense attorney can answer all of your questions about the charges filed against you in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Source: Atlantic City Press, “Atlantic City man arrested in death of Jacqueline Hoyle makes first court appearance,” CLAIRE LOWE, March 21, 2017